Thomson Reuters debuts amid global market jitters

LONDON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Shares of global information
company Thomson Reuters Corp TRI.TOTRI.NTRIL.LTRIN.O
fell in their debut on Thursday on concerns over a financial
industry downturn.

The new company, formed by Thomson's purchase of Reuters
for more than $16 billion in cash and stock, hopes its
portfolio of products, ranging from financial to legal and
health care, will help it ride out the credit crisis.

The combination allows Thomson to expand its financial data
offering from its North American base, and is meant to help
Reuters reduce its exposure to financial markets.

Even so, brokerage ABN put a "sell" rating on the stock,
arguing that the financial industry is facing big job cuts and
takeovers.

Goldman Sachs analyst Peter Appert, who has a "neutral"
rating on the stock, offered a similar downbeat assessment.

"The timing in some respects couldn't be worse," Appert
said. "You are dramatically expanding your exposure to the
financial services industry at a time when the financial
services industry is arguably facing its toughest environment
in the past decade."

Indeed, Merrill Lynch MER.N said on Thursday it would cut
2,900 jobs after a $2 billion quarterly loss.

Shares in Thomson Reuters, which announced that it may buy
back up to $500 million of its shares over the year, fell
around 5 percent in Toronto and New York.
Continued...